Camera Flash
by Totally-Out-Of-It
Summary: Amazing Spiderman. SpiderFlash. Flash gets in over his head when he tries to stop an armed jewelry heist at the opening of a show. Luckily for him, Peter's there for the Bugle. Peter realizes Spiderman inspires all sorts of people, identities aren't always ambiguous, and a little flash in a dark room can cause a huge stir.


The gala was lit up with diamonds... no, literally. There were four Swarovski crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling and splintering their light around the room. Each ray seemed engineered to target a diamond ring, bracelet, or dangling earring that was set against the porcelain skin of a model that was showing off the new inventory. The Vincent Maguire Foundation party was in full swing to celebrate their donations of some of the most priceless diamonds in the world. Among the guests are journalists, publicists, military personnel, trust fund babies, and politicians - including the mayor of New York. It was about as rich and swanky as one could get this far north.

In the midst of all the glamour was a group of plus ones. Peter Parker, dressed in a rented tux and with his trusty camera, laughed as a bartender handed the entire group a round of champagne and then thanked him for his trouble. To Peter's right was the lovely Gwen Stacy, all in blue. Beside her was Mary-Jane Watson, a college friend of Peter's and also Gwen's new roommate. Peter was trying his hardest to compliment her, but it came out so broken and shy that Mary-Jane just dissolved into giggles, which in turn made Peter try harder and start laughing at his own failure. Eugene Thompson shifted in his spot next to Mary-Jane, not used to suits but looking damn good in his father's old thing. He and Gwen smiled and teased Peter's attempts, but they were all friendly about it. Together they formed a horseshoe so they could all see each other and see the party.

They were just making a toast to Peter being able to score three extra tickets from Jameson's penny pinching ass when another man slipped up on Peter's other shoulder.

"Harry!" Peter cheered and embraced him. Across the horseshoe, Flash didn't try to lie to himself. Yeah, he was jealous. Harry and Peter were pretty close. He should be glad for it. Without Harry, Flash would never have an excuse to hang out with the photographer. Peter and Flash had never been friends in high school, but had become less antagonistic. Only when they hit college, when Harry Osborn became both Peter's friend and Flash's roommate and friend, did Flash and Peter begin to go out to the same places and joke with each other. Even after Harry moved out and Peter moved in with Gwen, they were all still close. Still Harry's relationship with Peter, their brotherly closeness, got under Flash's tough, athletic skin.

"Glad you could all make it," Harry said, motioning at the group. Mary-Jane beamed and broke the group wall to go stand by him, planting a kiss on his cheek. Harry easily slid his arm around her waist. "Get any good shots yet?" Harry asked Peter.

"Yeah. I got a few before anyone really showed up, plus a few of the bigger names coming in the door," Peter explained, adjusting the lens on his camera.

"Well I'm here now. Take a quick one of me and my date," Harry said, nudging MJ and smiling when she laughed.

Peter smiled, a slight embarrassment making it lopsided, as he shrugged and agreed. He moved over to get his friends in a good angle. Gwen had to move out of the way and ended up bumping into Flash, but she smiled up at him with a sadness to her eyes so he didn't even mention it.

"You look beautiful," Flash complimented under the rush of chatter in the room, not stumbling at all as Peter had done.

"Thanks," Gwen said and seemed to relax. "You've been really nice these last few months. I haven't really thanked you properly."

"You just did," Flash assured and waved off any further attempts to flatter him.

It was more because he didn't want to talk about the last few months than because he didn't want to be shown gratitude. Five months ago - wow, almost half a year - Gwen and Peter had separated from each other. She'd been held hostage by an evil feline, and the stress just slowly tore them apart. Flash had let Peter move into his spare bedroom in his apartment until he could find his own place while Flash had simultaneously called Gwen on a weekly basis to make sure she was handling it alright. That was when Mary-Jane had moved in with Gwen. Although he'd expected Peter to move out soon, Flash was happily surprised that they were still living together five months later.

Despite his own feelings, Flash didn't understand why Peter and Gwen split up. Almost every conversation he had with Gwen devolved into her concern for Peter. Was he eating right? Did he get mugged again? Did he have any new bruises? Was he still riding that stupid skateboard around? Her love for Peter was undeniable.

Peter was a bit secretive, but having him as a roommate wasn't all that shocking. It just meant Flash couldn't leave his underwear lying on the back of the couch anymore and he should probably have more than vitamin water in the fridge. Living with Peter, though, made it all too easy to solidify two things for Flash.

The first thing had been pretty concrete since middle school, since he'd first met Peter Parker at all. That was the fact that Flash found Peter to be the most attractive nerd in the history of the planet, and nothing would beat walking into the kitchen and watching him chug a bottle of orange juice in just his workout clothes, sweaty and the rim of his underwear visible over the top of his pants. Peter had filled out nice in high school, finally gaining muscle mass that made Flash stop being afraid of tackling him.

Yeah... Flash had apologized for all the left hooks and cheap kicks in high school for the entire first month until Peter threatened to live on the street if he didn't stop. Apparently all was easily forgiven once they were friends. Peter had said something about hoping Flash felt the same way toward Peter, and of course that was true. Flash couldn't hold much against Peter, except maybe his tendency to organize like an OCD mental patient. It wouldn't be so bad if Peter would just keep his mitts off Flash's things and just organize his own shit.

The second thing that became clear when Peter moved in... was that Spiderman, the guy Flash idolized, the guy he admired, the guy he dreamed about and wished he could be like was now his roommate. He'd gotten the idea in high school when Peter had suddenly become hyper alert, gained the muscle, and started physically fighting back when bullied. At the same time, Spiderman appeared and started dropping criminals off at police stations. Peter would come to school with bruises on his face and knuckles and expect no one to notice... but Flash did.

After Peter moved in, it became clear. Flash would stay up, listening, and hear Peter come in through the window, tripping sometimes and knocking over his organized CDs or coat rack. The injuries were hard to hide when Peter liked wearing no-sleeve shirts to relax in. When they were particularly bad, Flash always knew. Peter would start wearing his hoodie indoors and say he was just cold... even when the temperature was 80.

Gwen knew. Flash could tell. That's why she always worried and came up with excuses for his wounds. It made Flash frown when he thought that Peter hadn't trusted him yet, but it made sense too.

To his side, Gwen just smiled like she knew all of Flash's inner thoughts. It was kind of scary.

"What?" Flash asked. Gwen's grin got a bit wider, and she ducked her head while she took a breath. The flash on Peter's camera went off, briefly illuminating the area. When Gwen opened her mouth to speak, however, she was cut off.

A gunshot had gone off near the middle of the room, and the flash was just like Peter's picture. The front doors slammed shut. Some people screamed. Harry pushed MJ behind him, closer to Gwen, and the three men formed a wall between the danger and the girls. Peter didn't look like much of a threat, clutching his camera, but Flash knew better.

Around the now silent room, men in cloth strip masks held guns out, scanning the crowd. Two men guarded the front doors. One guarded the side exit. Flash scanned the room quickly.

"Ten," he said.

"Eleven," Peter corrected. He nodded his head, and Flash noticed the guy he'd missed in the back corner. Before he could thank Peter, the ringleader of the masked men shot off a second bullet into the ceiling.

"Do as you're told, and this will go smoothly," he called out over the crowd. "We will not hurt anyone, so long as you fork over all your jewels and valuables."

"The showcase alone is worth millions," Harry whispered to his friends. Flash nodded in understanding while Peter just looked stunned and checked around for all the models. "We can't let them get out of here with that."

Harry slipped out his phone slowly, trying to be discreet, but the newest Apple product was no use, it seemed. It glared at him for having no signal. A shattering sound echoed out as one of the men caused the bar tables to collapse nearby. All eyes were on him as he stepped up to Harry and smacked the phone from his hand.

"No electronics are to be used," the ringleader said coldly to the rest of the room. "They will be of no use for outside calling anyway, so don't bother. We really don't want to hurt you."

The man in front of Harry slugged him so hard that the young scientist dropped to the ground and didn't get back up. Beside him, Flash saw Peter tense but otherwise not move a muscle. Some people gasped at the treatment and stepped away from any of the men near them. Mary-Jane jumped to start undoing her cheap Walmart watch and silver plated earrings. Gwen just bit her lower lip.

"No cameras either," the leader said. The man who'd punched Harry stepped up to Peter and literally ripped the camera out of his hands and over his head. "Now my friends are going to walk among you. Just drop your jewels into their bags quickly, or they may lose their tempers."

"Gwen," Flash murmured, stepping close as though trying to protect her. Peter watched as his camera was chucked into the man's large sack. Gwen leaned into him and pretended to shake. "Get under the table on my cue."

"What?" Gwen asked, raising her eyes to him as though he were crazy.

"Just do it." Flash pulled apart from her and stepped up to Peter, who was glaring at the man as a nearby couple dropped their watches and rings into the bag. There was a dull clack every time something hit the camera. "Hey," Flash said to the robber.

"What, punk?" the guy grunted. The general shuffle and whine around the room didn't draw attention to them.

"That camera is his life," Flash lied. Well, it was his average life, at least. To their left, Flash spotted the door to a bathroom. Peter just needed to have the chance to get to it. Speaking of Peter, the other male was glancing nervously at Flash, as though he too thought his friend had lost his mind.

"See how much I care," the robber scoffed. "This is _my_ life."

"Fine." Flash glanced to the side, locking eyes with Peter, and then snapped his fist into the robber's jaw. He dropped faster than Harry, but didn't lose consciousness. The two nearby couples yelped and backed off while Flash slid the open sack under the nearest table, where he saw Gwen rip Mary-Jane for safety.

"Hey!" The ring leader pointed his gun at Flash and a second 'friend' joined the one Flash had slugged. When Flash glanced around, Peter was gone, and that made everything suddenly much more optimistic.

"Hey," Flash called back.

"Don't play funny with me, boy," the man growled. "You have a death wish?"

"No, Sir," Flash answered. "But your 'friend', here, insulted _my_ friend."

"Fool! What friend?"

It was true. Flash was now all alone, what with Peter gone, Harry on the ground, and the girls under a table. He had no back-up, not from the terrified rich snobs around him or the trembling models. Still, Flash just shrugged and smirked.

"I'm not scared of you, because any second now Spiderman will show up and stop you," he announced proudly. A murmur ran through the crowd, but not through the ring leader.

"Spiderman?" he chuckled. "Nice try, kid. Unfortunately, good old Spidey won't be in time for you, or your friends under the table. Shoot them." He said and motioned to the guy nearest Flash.

The masked man stepped out toward the table where Gwen and MJ were hiding, and Flash's chest hammered beneath his skin and fancy clothes. Without hesitating, he grabbed the armed man and flipped him over his shoulder, sending him flying into the other table. Mary-Jane and Gwen both sort of screamed, but their covering was safe.

When Flash turned back to the leader, the second thief who he had hit earlier now had his gun pointed right in Flash's face. Never had a swallow felt so heavy running down Flash's throat.

"Say good bye," the man snarled. Flash's lips parted for a short in-take of breath, but he never planned to speak. He never had the chance to either, as the hand with the gun was hit with web and knocked away. The whole room gasped, and everyone looked in the direction it had come. Flash took the opportunity to grab his attacker's arm, twist it behind him, and incapacitate him.

When he looked for Spiderman, he saw him kicking the legs out from underneath three men. All the party goers were scrambling, running from the fight as the thieves ran toward it. The front doors opened as dozens of couples shoved through them, and Flash ripped the table cloth off the girls' hiding place to see if they were still there.

"Run!" he shouted when he saw them. Mary-Jane nodded and pulled Gwen to her feet. Gwen pulled away though and grabbed onto Flash's arm.

"Flash," she started, but the jock shook his head.

"I'm gonna help Spiderman," he said. "Don't try to convince me otherwise."

"I won't," Gwen assured. She gripped his arm harder for a minute and then nodded. "Just get him home safe."

Flash had a second of stunned wonder as the girls finally ran off to debate when it was that Gwen realized Flash knew. When had she noticed that Peter's secret was no longer hidden? And when had she decided it was okay that Flash knew?

But then that second was over, mostly because a man was yelling and running at him. Flash yelled and ran right back at him, dodging a bullet and tackling the guy to the ground. The ring leader was heading for the back entrance while Spiderman finished off the goons near the front, keeping the guns away from the fleeing masses. Flash grit his teeth and slugged his guy one more time as he tried to get up and then darted after the leader.

"Hey!" he shouted. Spiderman tied up a guy with his web and looked over toward the yell.

"Ah- Flash!" he warned, dropping his opponent.

The leader spun, his eyes barely visible in his black mask, and whipped his gun on Flash in one motion. Stopping wasn't an option. Flash had too much momentum. He counted footsteps and heard Peter calling his name again, but that was probably just in his head. The gun went off, aimed at Flash's chest, but there was a tugging sensation, and Flash was ripped to the floor. He was yanked sideways by a web and collapsed onto Spiderman's body as the hero slid over.

"P- Spiderman," Flash gasped.

"Stay down!" Spiderman ordered. "Seriously, you got a death wish?"

Flash was hefted off and to the side with very little grace, and then Spiderman was up and sprinting toward the leader, who tried to shoot him but missed, obviously. Flash watched in awe. Spiderman moved like anyone else, but then he would twitch and dart about like an animal, like a spider. It never got old, watching him fight, and until now Flash had only seen it on TV. Of course he'd seen Peter fight a few times, but Peter was always so normal, so controlled. Spiderman was all over the place. Flash wondered what it felt like, having Spiderman crawl around your body like a giant arachnid, tying you up in his webbing. Did it feel like a spider or like some weird guy was groping you?

Spiderman stood over the sufficiently tied up body of the leader and first looked to make sure all threats were neutralized before focusing on Flash, still laying on the ground.

"Pet-," Flash started, only to be stopped by a splatter of web covering his mouth.

Spiderman stepped over to him, knelt down, and seemed to assess what he saw: an ex jock in a hand-me-down tux who had taken on a room of armed robbers and was now splayed out on the ground with a web gag on.

"Come with me," he said. He picked Flash off the ground with little effort, making Flash feel weightless and small for the first time in his life. A web shot up and hooked on a high window, and Flash followed it before glancing in shock back at the one who'd shot it. He couldn't read Peter through the mask. "I won't drop you," Peter said in a tone so gentle that it was hard to reconcile it with the tough hero's face that was staring back at him.

Then Flash was off the ground, held to Peter with the same strength that had lifted him to his feet. Regardless of the assurance, Flash latched onto Peter's body, holding tight as Spiderman lifted him to the building's terrace and then out, higher into the sky and between the buildings of New York.

Swinging with Spiderman. Only Gwen had ever had this experience. Anyone else lucky enough to go up with him was only there long enough to be set back down, but Flash was moving through the city like an acrobat, seeing the lights of the city like a sky diver. Each time Spiderman swung up, it felt like flying, and each time they dropped down, Flash would experience the terror of falling. They never went near the ground, though, in their high flying adventure. Even so, Flash held on tight until he heard Spiderman say something about bracing for impact.

They hit the wall with surprising gentleness, but it was still a brick wall. Flash grunted behind the webbing and looked around, recognizing the street below as his own. Spiderman opened the window nearby and ushered Flash inside. When his feet his the carpet, he instantly registered that he was in his own bedroom. He'd been taken home by Spiderman - could his night get any better?

Wait.

He turned around and tried to speak, but he'd forgotten his mouth was blocked. Anyway, his sudden fear that he'd been left alone in his room proved to be unfounded, as he saw the hero slink in through the window and pull it shut.

"Oh. Right. Sorry," Spiderman said and removed the web. "You alright, then?"

Peter was smiling under his mask. Flash could hear it in his tone. Flash's heart hadn't stopped pounding since the robbery had started, and it now propelled him forward. He took heavy breaths as he reached forward and ripped the mask off, leaving behind the stunned and nervous form of Peter Parker. Peter kept his head down at first, trying to hide, but then he slowly raised his gaze to meet Flash's.

"Flash?" Peter asked when all his friend did was breathe deeply. Flash could almost see the switch flip as Peter began to panic. "I'm so sorry, man. I should've told you. I know. I'm sorry. I-"

Flash grabbed Peter by the back of the head and then pulled, but Peter was stronger and so Flash moved himself forward and hit their foreheads together. It hurt a little, but he kept them firmly touching, their bodies close, their breath mixing.

"Shut up, Parker," he ordered. He felt Peter's breath, just as heavy and paced as his own, and then tilted his head, kissing Spiderman - kissing God damn Spiderman - kissing Peter Parker full on the mouth.

Peter pulled back first, but not until after several seconds had passed. Flash couldn't stop him. Peter didn't step back, just rubbed his nose with his gloved hand and looked off to the side. His mouth kept opening and closing, making small attempts to speak, and then he bit his lip and looked up at the ceiling, his breath coming out in an aggravated sigh. Flash's hand was still resting on the back of his neck, and the jock watched Peter struggle with the same awed eyes that had seen him fighting.

"Peter-," he tried.

"No," Peter said, looking at him. "You don't understand. I can't. I can't do this."

"Peter," Flash murmured again and leaned their foreheads together again.

"I can't. You can't either. You just don't know it yet," Peter said, worrying his mask between his hands. "Gwen-" Peter tilted his head up, moving their foreheads apart but bringing them nose to nose, eyes locked, and he froze. Spiderman froze. What a fantastic thought, that Flash had such an effect on him.

"Peter," Flash repeated. "I can handle it."

"How long have you known?" Peter asked, voice soft and strained.

"A while. I've watched you for a while. I noticed. But I knew for sure when you moved in," Flash answered.

Peter let out a tiny laugh. "You- You know how creeper that sounds, right?" he asked, and that small joke in his voice made Flash smile and relax.

He leaned just a half an inch forward and captured Peter's lips again, fingers on the back of Peter's neck, pulling loose strands from where they were captive just below the neck of the costume. Peter dropped his mask and put his hands on either side of Flash's face, gently - as if he were afraid of breaking him, and maybe he was. It was weird, the costume against his cheeks, and he wondered if it felt weird to Peter too.

"What?" Peter asked, feeling the way Flash started to grin mid-kiss.

"Nothin," Flash said, shaking his head in the dark and putting his free hand on Peter's side. "Just... you know how hot you look in this?" Peter laughed and turned his face away, embarrassed. "No. I'm serious, Parker. Skin tight spandex? It's tight around _all_ the right places, you know? And it shows off your muscles."

"Yeah? Well it's uncomfortable as hell sometimes," Peter countered. Each time he looked at Flash, still so close, Peter seemed to lose his thoughts, and Flash didn't think he ever wanted that to go away. The next time Peter spoke, his voice was small and hopeful. "Are you sure?"

Flash smiled. "Beyond a doubt," he said. "So no more lying about your bruises... and no more pretending to be cold so I don't question the hood."

"Alright," Peter agreed with a chuckle. "In that case, you should know... I have some scars on my chest."

"Hot."

"I'm serious."

"So am I."

"You know what? I'm thirsty."

"You're so lame, Parker."


End file.
